Hollywood stars mourn Burt Reynolds' passing

7 Sep – One of Hollywood's great legends, Burt Reynolds, has passed away from cardiopulmonary arrest at age 82.

It was revealed by manager Erik Kritzer that the late actor breathed his last on Thursday morning (local time) at Jupiter Medical Center in Florida.

"He has had health issues, however, this was totally unexpected. He was tough," his niece Nancy Lee Hess said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.

The outpouring of tributes and condolences from fellow Hollywood stars are now sweeping social media.

Arnold Schwarzenegger posted: "Burt Reynolds was one of my heroes. He was a trailblazer. He showed the way to transition from being an athlete to being the highest paid actor, and he always inspired me."

Meanwhile, Reynolds' ex-girlfriend Sally Field, whom he dated for nearly five years in the late '70s, said, "My years with Burt never leave my mind. He will be in my history and my heart, for as long as I live."

"Burt Reynolds often told me how much he loved my father," producer Shaun Cassidy, son of the late Jack Cassidy, shared. "One night at dinner, he admitted that in his early days he tried to imitate Brando, but later he figured that if he could just be as funny as Jack Cassidy, he might have broader appeal. What an understatement. RIP Burt."

Ryan Reynolds also managed to slip in a Deadpool tribute to Burt Reynolds.

Burt Reynolds started acting in the '60s but while he continued to make movies throughout the '90s and until this year, his film career truly peaked during the '70s and '80s, when he starred in movies such as "The Longest Yard", "Smokey and the Bandit", "Smokey and the Bandit II" and "Hooper".

Though, it was only in 1997 that he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in "Boogie Nights".

Reynolds was supposed to have appeared in Quentin Tarantino's upcoming "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" but looks like fans won't be able to see him in a posthumous role, as the late actor did not manage to shoot any of his scene prior to his death.